Bubble is the 800th animal to arrive at the centre in Windsor Credit: Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Old Windsor

Bubble is the eight hundredth animal to arrive at Old Windsor's Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. The centre is taking in, on average, six animals every day.

"We're seeing an increase in people giving up their pets, but our doors are open 365 days a year and we'll always help those animals that need us. Bubble is an adorable pup but needs owners that can commit to his training. We're sure it won't be long before the right owners come along and he's happily settled in a new home."

Agoraphobic rescue dog Whisper is so terrified of people and the outside world that staff at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home are finding it impossible to find her a new home.

Whilst most rescue dogs love nothing more than ‘walkies’, meeting people and other dogs, and running around the Home’s exercise paddocks with their balls, Whisper will only leave her kennel once all the other dogs are in bed for the night and the staff and visitors have gone home. Only when the grounds are deserted for the day does she feel it’s safe to venture outside.

Battersea staff have encountered all sorts of behaviours over the years but agoraphobic Whisper is one of the most extreme cases they have ever faced and they wonder how she will ever meet new owners.

Six-year-old Whisper was found cowering underneath a bush in Surrey back in January. The Staffordshire Bull Terrier had most likely been used as a breeding bitch before being brought to Battersea’s Old Windsor Home as a stray.

She was undernourished, and her teats were terribly stretched after giving birth to and feeding litter after litter. Whisper’s fear of the outdoors is probably a result of being kept in a shed or indoor cage. She was given her name as the slightest noise or movement would have her cowering in her bed, too scared to leave her kennel and petrified of people and other dogs.

If you can give Whisper the loving home she deserves, or are interested in adopting any of our incredible rescue dogs, you can call Battersea on 0843 509 4444 or visit www.battersea.org.uk.

“Whisper is a gentle, loving, kind-natured dog, and she is going to make the most amazing pet for someone who has the time and patience to slowly build her trust and confidence. We know that she’s going to need very understanding owners but more than anything we want her to enjoy a life outside kennels like any other dog. Whisper has had a terrible start to life and she really deserves a happy ending.”

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A family from Sittingbourne have given a new home to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home’s 1000th dog of 2013. The nine week old Staffordshire Bull Terrier pup named Emerald arrived at the animal charity along with his six littermates because their owner could no longer care for them.

But it wasn’t long before precious little Emerald caught the eye of a new family, and was at Battersea for just eight days before finding a new home in Kent.

You may have seen Battersea Dogs and Cats home on ITV recently when entertainer Paul O'Grady spent some weeks at their London centre. Battersea also has rehoming centres at Brands Hatch and Old Windsor; and some of the animals want to get a job - as David Johns explains.